d.: Cal.E., I rewrote the preamble to the Magruder Mysteries Precision: A Crime of Passion; The Rebirth of a Cold Case Sleuth. I think that, this way, the book can be the first in the series still, but leads better into the other five books. Do you have time to proofread it for me, before I send it to my editor, then she sends it back to me, then you proof read it again, and then I totally rewrite it?
C.: I don’t. I’m filling in for Ralph at The Kennel tonight. Maybe if you put it on the blog, you can get some feedback, though.
d.: I’ll do that now, then.
PREAMBLE
December 16, 2025; Bogota, Columbia; 1600 hours:
“Objetivos identificados,” the nondescript man said into his watch.
“Bring them to me, then. Be careful, though, the large one may be desperate to accomplish his goal, and the detective is armed, I’m sure.”
“Detective James David Magruder?” The man pulled Jay out of line as he deplaned with his client.
“Who’s asking?”
“Come with me, please.”
“It doesn’t look like you’re going to give us a choice. Just don’t handcuff me too tightly. My skin isn’t as pliable as it was thirty years ago.”
***
“Mr. Magruder, I think that we are looking for the same person,” the mysterious man lit his pipe, took a few puffs, and looked out of the window thoughtfully. “If you help me, I will help you. It will be a… symbiotic relationship.”
“Who are you, and why should I help you do anything?” Magruder was baffled.
“My name is not important, just call me ‘Al,’ like the Paul Simon song from the nineteen-seventies. Ah, the seventies, what a time to be a teenager.”
“You were a teenager in the seventies, that would make you-”
“Still alive!”
“Well, whatever you’re doing, you should bottle and sell it. You look remarkable for your age!” The middle-aged detective was trying to get a read on his interrogator, but it wasn’t easy. The man seemed to be unfazed by anything Jay said.
“And, what a pity about you, detective. You were an athletic specimen in your youth. Now, you are not as fit. All that greasy food you ate while working undercover has taken its toll. What a pity! You would be a good candidate for my new enterprise, would you not? How much would you pay to look like I do now in ten years? Because now, you look like one of my polo ponies after a match when my stable servants have neglected to brush it down and put it in its stall without care.”
“So, you’re saying that I look like a horse that's been ridden hard and put up wet?”
The mysterious man nodded. “If the shoe fits-”
“Look, I don’t know who you are, or what you want with us, but I’m not going to play games with you! If you didn’t have any use for us, you would have just shot me with that .223 Glock on the table by now. It would penetrate my Kevlar vest, and you know that. So, just tell me what you want, and maybe we can work out a deal.”
The mysterious Al stood and looked out of the window thoughtfully. “I have already told you what I want. We can help each other.”
Jay didn’t trust anyone in South America, and he’d never seen or heard about anyone named “Al” in all his days of undercover work. “First, let me and my friend loose from these handcuffs. Thank you, that’s much better.
“I grew up on a ranch, where I learned to tell time by the sun. People who can do that are very adept at knowing what time it is, even though you took our phones and watches so that we couldn’t communicate with anyone. Our phones do have GPS devices, but I’m sure you turned those off.
“However, I felt the sun in my face through my blindfold and it’s fifteen after four in the afternoon, so I know that we’re about fifteen minutes west of El Dorado International Airport. But neither of us have ever been to Bogota before, so the blindfolds were unnecessary.” Jay began. He thought for a moment and began his own interrogation of the mysterious Al. “Why should I trust you?”
“Because, if you don’t, your family may meet with some ‘unfortunate accidents,’ Detective James David Magruder. You have nine children by three different wives and twenty-seven grandchildren. Your oldest grandchildren are quite talented. Your oldest granddaughter has not had anything but the highest grade on her report card from elementary school through her third year of college, even though her second grade teacher was not fond of her. I believe that, since it is Wednesday, she will be practicing her cheerleading at East Texas Tech University in Huntsville, Texas at this very moment. Tomorrow, like yesterday, the cheerleading squad will occupy part of the football field for their practice. She has an I.Q. of 132. She is smart, and also a hard worker. She could be quite useful to me.
“And your oldest grandson is quite talented as well. He scored thirty-two points in his last high school basketball game. It appears that he inherited your athleticism. It is too bad that he tore his left Achilles tendon in that game. He’s out for the rest of his junior year, but it is a minor tear. He should recover nicely for his senior year and probably earn an athletic scholarship. I can help you with that, if you will help me. Otherwise, he may end up working for me.” Al paused, looked at Jay thoughtfully, and continued.
“His athleticism and mental toughness would be quite useful to me. He played the last quarter of that game after he tore the tendon. And he’s quite bright as well.”
“Jay, this is scary. I’m going to talk. Maybe he can help us.-“ The very large young man was frightened of a man who knew every detail of Jay’s life.
“Not so fast. What would keep you from killing us, once we tell you what you want to know?” Jay asked.
“Well, if you do not trust me, perhaps you should only tell me enough to intrigue me but leave out enough so that I will still find you useful. However, if I do not gather enough information, you will be useless to me then, too If you don’t talk, though, your fate is assured. You and your tall, handsome friend will meet with your ultimate demise, but it is up to you.”
“I have friends in high places. I’m sure that you know that, if you know so much about me,” Jay interjected.
“Ah, yes, your friend, Mark Joliet will not protect you, detective. His second wife and their daughter are at the gym working out together at this very moment in Austin, Texas. Martha’s heartrate is quite elevated, but she is in her forties. Her daughter’s heartrate is…one-twenty-two now, and she is young. She must be working out vigorously on a device meant to strengthen one’s heart vigorously. I’m sure that Mr. Joliet would not want to lose another wife to a tragedy, nor his daughter. Few people die when being hit in a crosswalk in a major American city and never have the culprit identified, especially if that person’s spouse is associated with several law enforcement agencies. Mr. Joliet will do as I tell him to do!”
“I’m talking, Jay. This is scary, and he may be able to help us.”
“Is it worth taking that chance to do what we came here to do? He may kill us no matter what we do.”
“I’m willing to take that chance, Jay.”
“Al, it all started five years ago…